Setting aside just 30 minutes a day can help you gain control over your negative thoughts
Worry can easily dominate your thoughts, but setting aside just 30 minutes a day to focus solely on worrying can give you a sense of control and help free up the rest of your time for more productive activities.
Here’s a more detailed guide on how to implement this simple yet effective technique:
- Set your worry time: Identify a specific half-hour slot that works best for you, when you’re free from distractions and obligations. Late morning or mid-afternoon can be ideal times. Avoid choosing a time close to bedtime, as this could keep you up at night. Treat this as a formal appointment – schedule it in your calendar or set an alarm.
- Be mindful of your thoughts: Throughout the day, as worries surface, consciously acknowledge them, but mentally push them aside until your designated worry time. A helpful trick is to jot them down quickly in a notebook or on your phone. This process helps you “park” your worries for later, freeing up mental space during the rest of the day.
Photo by Nik Shuliahin
Related Stories Seven steps to overcoming your frustration
A few tips to help you relieve your stress
The secret to living a pressure-free life
- Use a timer: When your worry time begins, set a timer for 30 minutes. This clear boundary ensures you won’t overindulge in negative thoughts. It helps you stay disciplined, preventing worries from spilling over into other parts of your day.
- Record your worries: During this 30-minute session, focus on your concerns. Write them down or journal about them in as much detail as necessary. Seeing your worries on paper often brings clarity and helps you analyze them more logically. You may even notice recurring themes or patterns that reveal deeper sources of anxiety, allowing you to address root causes more effectively.
- Stop when the timer goes off: Once the timer sounds, close your journal or notebook and stop worrying for the day. Any new concerns that pop up will have to wait until the next session. This firm endpoint ensures you don’t spend excessive time dwelling on problems and helps you transition back to more positive, productive activities.
- Repeat daily: Like any habit, this technique takes time to become second nature. Commit to practicing it daily for at least two weeks. Over time, you’ll likely find that worrying becomes less overwhelming, and you’ll develop a greater sense of control over your thoughts.
In addition to this worry-management strategy, incorporating stress-reduction techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or meditation can help keep anxiety at bay throughout the day. Practicing mindfulness or taking a few moments to pause and breathe can reduce the intensity of anxious thoughts and stay more present.
Setting aside specific time to worry creates mental space for creativity, productivity, and relaxation. This small daily habit can have a significant impact, leading to improved sleep, a calmer mindset, and more peace of mind throughout the day.
Faith Wood is a professional speaker, author, and certified professional behaviour analyst. Before her career in speaking and writing, she served in law enforcement, which gave her a unique perspective on human behaviour and motivations. Faith is also known for her work as a novelist, with a focus on thrillers and suspense. Her background in law enforcement and understanding of human behaviour often play a significant role in her writing.
For interview requests, click here.
The opinions expressed by our columnists and contributors are theirs alone and do not inherently or expressly reflect the views of our publication.
© Troy Media
Troy Media is an editorial content provider to media outlets and its own hosted community news outlets across Canada.
